Cool spaces: Outdoor kitchens are heating up

May 19, 2013

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Written by

Susan M. Selasky

Detroit Free Press Staff Writer

Building your own

The Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Assocation lists these mainstays for outdoor rooms: an appliance for cooking, a dining table and chairs for sitting and eating, and a heater or hearth device to extend the season. When building an outdoor kitchen, figure out your needs and how you use your space. Think about what you wish you had. Kalamazoo Gourmet, a high-end maker of oudoor appliances, lists these general categories as pieces of an outdoor kitchen: grills, outdoor pizza oven, refrigeration, dishwasher, cabinetry, warming appliances or trays, ventilation and cooktops. For more information, go to kalamazoogourmet.com The bbqguys.com, among others, also provide products and consulting on what you might need to build an outdoor kitchen. Most kitchen designers could help.

At the Selasky home

Susan Selasky, Detroit Free Press food writer and test kitchen director, and her husband wanted an outdoor kitchen area. Here’s what they did: When we decided to create an outdoor kitchen area, we knew we wanted a separate grill, countertop area, a sink and storage drawers. We also wanted a pergola for design and style. But we didn’t want to spend a ton of money, either. Once we came up with how we wanted it to look, we studied magazines and catalogs and got ideas at home improvement stores and online. Our bargain was the KitchenAid sink at half off the suggested retail price at local landscape store. Here are the highlights: ■ The island was built on beams on a supported structure to carry the weight. ■ Grill: Jenn Air with searing burner and rotisserie. 70,000 total BTUs. Has grill lights and illuminated panel. Two storage drawers. Uses propane or natural gas hook-up option. ■ Granite countertop. ■ KitchenAid beverage center with ice compartment. ■ Stainless steel drawer and door insert from www.bbqguys.com.

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The unofficial grilling season is under way, and one of the hottest trends is bringing the kitchen outdoors, literally.

Once thought only practical in warmer climates, outdoor kitchens in Michigan are heating up.

Makers of high-end grills and outdoor appliances — distributors, landscape companies and home builders — have seen this trend grow.

Built-in grills that spew out more than 50,000 BTUs and cost $7,000 and up. Outdoor-ready pizza ovens for $12,000. Dishwashers that cost $4,000. Outdoor kitchens, even in Michigan, are trendy and part of the planning stages of some new construction.

Trevarrow, an Auburn Hills-based distributor of Wolf and Sub-Zero appliances including ones for outdoors, has seen double-digit growth in its outdoor appliances business.

“We are seeing them become more popular,” says Don Cooper, Trevarrow’s corporate sales manager. “What was once thought of done only in warmer climates, like Arizona, ideally you can get eight to nine months out of it here.”

Cooper says it’s easy to deal with the cold in Michigan with outdoor heaters.

Russ Faulk, vice president of design and marketing for Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet, says outdoor kitchens “are more rivaling the indoor kitchen than they used to.”

The company specializes in outdoor cooking and entertaining. It has a manufacturing facility in Kalamazoo, and its headquarters are in Chicago.

“We are the upper end of the upper end,” Faulk says. “Our average outdoor kitchen order is in the $30,000-$50,000 range in the appliances and cabinetry.”

Faulk says the outdoor pizza oven is the top seller.

Outdoor kitchens can include cooking areas with refrigerators and ice makers designed and built for outdoor use that cost several thousand dollars each. There also are shiny built-in stainless steel kitchen sinks and even dishwashers. They’re all designed to be weather-resistant.

“It’s been growing for the last five-six years,” says Dominick Tringali, staff architect for Moceri, a custom home builder. “We are seeing more of those kinds of spaces.”

A Moceri-built home undergoing reconstruction has a covered space with a stone base island with a Sub-Zero built-in dishwasher, storage drawer and a warming drawer. It features another base with a refrigerator, cupboard storage and a Wolf grill. Moceri estimates there’s at least $35,000 in appliances.

“There’s more interest in improving outdoor space,” Frank Moceri says. “People are finding a better investment in outdoor space and something they can enjoy after the kids leave home.”

What you spend depends on what you want or need. Builders and designers peg pricing from $15,000 to upward of $50,000, depending on size, materials and appliances.